LBP-Trajectories
This project will substantially contribute to the understanding of the role of motor behavior in LBP progression and remission.
Factsheet
- Lead school School of Health Professions
- Institute(s) Physiotherapy
- Research unit(s) Spinal Movement Biomechanics
- Funding organisation SNSF
- Duration (planned) 01.06.2024 - 31.05.2028
- Project management Prof. Dr. Stefan Schmid
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Stefan Schmid
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Project staff
Guillaume Christe
Arlene Vivienne von Aesch
Dr. Adrien Cerrito
André Anton Meichtry -
Partner
HESAV
University of Southern Denmark
Balgrist University Hospital
HEIG-VD - Keywords LBP, Longitudinal relationship, Spinal motion, Disability, Unhelpful beliefs, Motor behavior, Physical activity, Pain-related fear, Time series
Situation
Low back pain (LBP) is a major global health problem, with over 80% of the population having at least one LBP episode during their lifetime and about half of them seeking care of a medical professional. While prior research has repeatedly demonstrated altered motor behavior in patients with LBP, its role in LBP recovery remains largely unknown. Longitudinal observations of pain support the existence of individual LBP phenotypes that could benefit from different treatment approaches. It is assumed that such phenotypes also exist for motor behavior, but longitudinal observations of motor behavior with large sample sizes are lacking. Analyzing temporal trajectories of motor behavior simultaneously to those of pain intensity, psychological factors, and disability, and accounting for the interrelations between those factors, is critical to better understand LBP pathomechanisms and for determining the most important rehabilitation targets.
Course of action
In a first step, a smartphone application will be developed and validated that enables these factors to be recorded using interactive questionnaires, the movement measurement unit in the smartphone, and the reading of data from fitness wristbands. In a second step, a longitudinal study with multiple follow-ups will be conducted to identify the temporal trajectories of motor behavior (i.e., spinal motion and physical activity), pain intensity, psychological factors (i.e., pain-related fear and unhelpful beliefs), and disability over a period of six months in 300 patients with acute and 300 with chronic non-specific LBP.
